Closure for cigarette and similar packages



June 14, 1932. M, ALLAND l 1,862,518

GLOSURE FOR CIGARETTE AND SIMILAR PACKAGES Filed March 17, 1930 press the relativ broader side walls of the zoen Patented June 14, 1932 UNITED STATES'. PATENT oFF-Ica MAURICE ALLAND, or ATLANTIC cI'rY, NEW JERSEY cLosUnE Eon cIaAJmrrTEl Armv SIMILAR rAcx'AGEs Application led March 17, 1930.- Serial No. 486,411.

'lne object of the invention is to provide a closure for packages such as those containing cigarettes land articles of. such general character.

Another object more specifically is to provide a closure comprising a central body portion to cover the open end of a cigarette package, laterally disposed parallel lianges to overhang and protect the free edge portions of the oppositely positioned relativelybroader sides ofthe package, depending normally diverging flattened resilient fingers operative when y narrow sidesof the same apart and thereby stretch| the relatively ackage, each of said fingers being provided) with an undercut lug or tooth, facing rearwardly of the direction of movement when inserting 'the `be withdrawn, and to provide the'closure of the fuel container with a lrelatively coarse screw for engaging certain of the contents to facilitate extracting them.

A still further object is to providethe device with a pivotedshield for the extracting screw and to form the closure for the fuel contalner of two principal elements, one being a hollow wickcontainer with means for supportlng the Hint, and there being a combined cover for the open'end of said fuel container and as a lock nut upon the threaded portion of a flint-advancing means, the opposite end of which means comprises said extracting screw. Throu hout this description the term -liint is empoyed to refer to any suitable material, which, when struck or 'rubbed against an abrading surface, will result in positioned in a package to e gers into a package, to prevent the acci-- the creation of sparks capable of igniting fuel carried by a-n'adjacent wick.

With these and other objects in mind, the

present invention comprises further details of construction and operationhwhich will be u fully brought out in the following description when read in conjunction with the accompanyingcdrawing, invwhich Fig.1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the invention as applied to a cigarette package, '50 a portion of which is broken away in order to show one of the closure fingers; F ig..2 is a yfront elevation of the closure member perl se; Fig. 3 is an enlarged vertical sectlon of 'the upper portion of the closure member; u

Fig. 4 1s an enlarged section of one of the undercut lugs or teeth, showing the adjacent Y portion of a package' walli in cooperation therewith; Fig. 5 is an enlarged' transverse vertical section of the upper portion of the device taken through the improved lighter;

and Fig. 6 is an elevational view of the lighter element per se. y

Referrin to the drawing, a cigarette orV similar pac age is shown as comprising front 75 and rear walls 1 and 2, connected by what will'be termed end walls 3 and 4, the'packa e being closed at the lower end by means o? a bottom wall 5.- It is assumed that the upper or top wall of the package has been removed s that the cigarettes or other contents 6 are visible.

The improved closure comprises a preferably flat body portion. 7, Provided with an aperture 8, through which the contents -of a v package may be extracted, and with a second` aperture 9, in which slides a lug orlrivet 10, the lower end of whichis secured to a plate 11, which forms a sliding closure for the aperture 8 and normally. lies a ain'st the 00 pnder or inner surface of said bofy portion bbdy portion there is also carried an abra sive surface 12, or the surface of said body portion may itself be scored or otherwise- 05 shaped to form a suitable abrasive.

The normal forward and rear edge portions of the 4body 7 are provided with inte-v gral depending ianges 13, adapted -to overhang and protect the adjacent free edge por- Upon the upper or outer surface of the A tionsv of the corresponding walls 1 and 2 of a cigarette package, while from the opposite that herein described, after being operatively associated with a cigarette package, is seldom removed from such package until the contents of the latter have been entirely removed, there is no reason why the empty package cannot be destroyed, and it is therefore with this in mind that the positive package wall-engaging lugs are designed, and they thus serve to prevent the accidental separation of the closure and package to the point of badly mutilating, if not destroying, the package, should an attempt be made to force the separation of the closure from the package after they have once been operatively connected. It will also be noted that one of the fingers 14 is provided with a sharpened cutting edge 18, which terminates in a relatively abrupt shoulder 19, said cutting edge being employed to assist! in the removal of the upper end of the package, in order that the device may be applied to such a package. 1

One of the flanges 13 is provided with a depending extension 20, to which is integrally secured` a cylindrical bracket 21, which in turn operatively supports the normal upper end of a fuel container 22, closed at its normal lower end by any suitable means 23. The bracket 21 is further provided with an upwardly extending flange 24, While the lower portion of said bracket is spanned by a partition 25, having restricted apertures 26, adapted to permit fuel within said container to seep outwardly past said partition, but to prevent the fuel from flowing freely therefrom when the device is inverted.

The Vlighting element itself comprises a cylindrical member 26, within the lower portion of which is positioned a cylindrical wick 27,-surrounding a concentric inner cylinder 28, within which is positioned, and from which freely extends downwardly, a suitable flint 29. The cylindrical Ymembers 26 and 28 are connected together at their adjacent upper portions 30 by any suitable means, while the latter is internally threaded in order to receive a correspondingly Jchreaded flint-advancing member 31, which is also carried in threaded engagement a disc member- 32, which serves as a lock nut to jam against the adjacent portions of said cylindrical members 26 and 28, to temporarily secure the member 31 against movement with respect thereto, and is provided With a depending cylindrical flange 33, which surrounds the adjacent bracket flange 24 to positively prevent the escape of fuel from within said container.

The threaded member 31 merges into a coarsely threaded member 34 which may be employed similarlyto a cork screw or the like for engaging and assisting in the removal of certain of the contents of a package to which the device is attached, and at the point of union-of said threaded members 31 and 34 there is provided an enlarged knurled knob 35, adapted to be manually engaged for rotating saidv first threaded member to advance the flint 29 through the inner cylindrical member 28, after the lock nut 32 has been loosened with respect thereto. As the coarsely threaded member 34 normally extends freely upwardly, it is shielded by means of a cylindrical member 36, having a laterally positioned opening 37 and carried by means of an overhanging bracket 38, in turn supported by the adjacent flange 13 in normal alignment with the depending portion 20, said bracket 38 being angularly movable however by reason of its pivotal connection `39 with said closure flange, and while in raised position being operative to protect the free end portion of the threaded member 34,

said bracket being oscillatable intothe position shown in Fig. 2, to permit the lighter unit, as shown in Fig. 6, to'be removed from engagement with the bracket 21. Havin removed the lighter unit, and the wick 2 having been moistened by the liquid fuel within the container 22, the flint 29 is rubbed briskly against the abrading surface 12, with the'result thatsparks flying from said flint ignite the fuel carried by the wick and cause a flame, which may then be used to ignite a cigarette previously extracted from a package to which the closure has been operatively attached.

The closure 23 for the normal lower end of the lighter per se forms in fact a closure for a compartment 45 in the lower portion of the tube 22 and is separated from the liquid containing portion 46 of said tube by a partition 47. In this compartment several reserve flints 29 and/or wicks may be carried,

according to the desire of the owner and operator of the device. Y

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to protect by Letters Patthe in of such Walls,

after the material of the w'- ter has been manually mce into th@ undercut of the lug )In testimon Signatura S. y whereof I hav@ axed my MAURICE Ammm 

